Peter Buchsbaum says the township hopes to encourage development consistent with smart growth in the township’s historic Mt. Airy region.
By: Concetta Benuzzi Volpe
WEST AMWELL With the accent on smart growth, open space and land preservation, Mayor Peter Buchsbaum is attending the fifth New Jersey Mayor’s Institute on Community Design in Princeton this week.
Mr. Buchsbaum will visit the halls of Princeton University hoping to return with greater insight on how to improve the quality of life in West Amwell.
Atop the mayor’s agenda are plans to encourage development consistent with smart growth in West Amwell’s historic Mt. Airy region.
The mayor said haphazard development could harm the historic district, possibly resulting in a poor view of the township along Route 179.
Mr. Buchsbaum anticipates learning some new design techniques and zoning approaches that can be incorporated into West Amwell’s Master Plan and zoning ordinances.
The design forum includes a keynote address by smart growth advocate, former Maryland Gov. Parris Glendening.
Mr. Buchsbaum is one of six New Jersey mayors invited to participate in the institute organized by the Regional Planning Association and New Jersey Department of Community Affairs Office of Smart Growth.
The mayor is presenting a case study targeting Mt. Airy, seeking to examine the benefits of cluster development and how to offset potential negative consequences.
"If not done right," Mr. Buchsbaum said, "cluster could produce just a clump of houses not related to the rest of the area. We hope in the institute to find ways in which good design, land preservation requirements, use of pedestrian walkways and other techniques could create an enhanced community while preserving the views and open space around Mt. Airy."
According to RPA officials, each mayor comes to the institute to discuss a specific development site or area in their municipality. They present their problem and work with a resource team consisting of planners, designers and architects to devise creative, workable solutions.
For two-and-a-half days, the mayors will consult with development experts seeking to use urban design to solve growth and development issues facing communities such as West Amwell.
According to RPA New Jersey Director Thomas Dallessio, there is tremendous pressure on mayors in the state to manage development.
Mr. Dallessio said the institute matches mayors with resources and expertise they need to make smart growth a reality in New Jersey.
According to RPA Director of Public Affairs Jeremy Soffin, participants will focus on creating healthy communities by exploring the relationship between public health and the built environment. For example, he said, several of the mayors would look at ways to use development to promote walking and use of active open space.
Mayor Buchsbaum selected the Mt. Airy location because it is well defined and large enough to be studied.
"Mt. Airy is the center of West Amwell," the mayor said. "There is an existing new development, the proposal for the Holcombe farm, the village, the high school and the municipal building in the area. With all this going on, there is a need to look at ways to better plan for the area."
Institute participants include Mayor Frank DeLucca Jr., Lindenwood Borough; Mayor Preston M. Taylor Jr., Lumberton Township; Mayor Phyllis L. Marchand, Princeton Township; Mayor George Paschalis, River Vale Township; Mayor Rudolph J. Wenzel Jr., Washington Township; and Mayor Buchsbaum.
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs provided funding for the event.
Additional support was provided by Princeton University, New Jersey League of Municipalities and the Mayors’ Institute Partnership, comprising the National Endowment for the Arts, the U.S. Conference of Mayors and the American Architectural Foundation.

